With an email Elon Musk he communicated to the Tesla employees that there will be no more smart working in the electric car production house. This is what the CEO allegedly said in a letter leaked online. And Musk on Twitter does not deny having written it, on the contrary he says that those who disagree “he should pretend he is working somewhere else ”.
Elon Musk against smart working in an internal email
Musk tackles the situation of smart working head-on in an email to Tesla’s executive staff, which has as its object: “Remote work is no longer acceptable “. The CEO warns that those who do not spend at least 40 hours in the office cannot ask to work from home: the alternative is to look for a new job.
“Anyone who wants to do remote working must stay in the office for a minimum (and I mean * minimum *) of 40 hours per week or leave Tesla. This is less than what we ask of factory workers. If there were particularly exceptional collaborators for whom this is impossible, I will personally evaluate and approve the exceptions directly. Also, the office must be the primary office in Tesla, not a branch unrelated to direct responsibilities. For example being an HR manager in Fremont but working in another state. Thanks Elon ”.
Compared on Twitter with the screenshot, Musk hasn’t denied writing the email. Indeed he wrote that those who disagree “he should pretend he is working somewhere else“.
It is also singular that Musk used Twitter, the company it is buying, to position itself against smart working. In fact, the social network has already authorized its employees to work “forever from home or wherever they feel more productive and creative”. A choice shared by companies such as Meta, Spotify, Dropbox.
Musk instead believes that Tesla employees should stay in the office as the workers who produce the cars stay in the factory. And he didn’t mince words to say it. Even if we assume that his employees who work from home are not happy to find that their employer thinks they are just pretending to work.
Several academic articles have reported a increased productivity for office work with smart working, sometimes up to 8%. Even if it depends on the type of business. But it doesn’t seem like Musk is willing to argue about it.